Boys Are Told Off More in the Class

BOYS are five times more likely to be told off in class than girls, even though girls are just as badly behaved, according to research from a Liverpool university.

The “prejudiced” views of teachers that boys are naughtier could be partly to blame for some becoming disenchanted and doing badly at school, the study found.

Dr Jeremy Swinson, honorary lecturer in educational psychology at John Moores University, said teachers were more likely to praise girls.

His early findings, based on observations of classes in two schools, suggested teachers “assume” boys will behave badly and discipline them five times more than girls.

But in fact Dr Swinson found boys and girls were equally likely to let their attention wander away from their class work.

Girls would be quieter, however, while boys might be more likely to make noise as their attention wanders “off task”.

“What is happening is that the girls are getting slightly more praise, and certainly boys are getting told off a great deal more,” he said.

“Teachers assume that the boys are more badly behaved, possibly because the sort of bad behaviour they engage in is likely to be louder.

“They are slightly more prone to shouting out in lessons.

“Teachers tend to be more cautious about boys because they perceive them to be potentially more trouble.”

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